


The Sun on Eagle's Wings

by Yaajkuza



Category: Sengoku Basara
Genre: Before the Battle of Mikawa, Eventual Romance, M/M, On Hiatus, Sengoku Basara 4, The Battle with Ieyasu where Matabei interrupts the fight.
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-03
Updated: 2015-04-03
Packaged: 2018-03-20 23:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,678
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3669603
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yaajkuza/pseuds/Yaajkuza
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reports from soldiers suggested that a part of a forest was heavily guarded by enemy troops because anyone who went would returned defeated and injured, so Tokugawa Ieyasu takes the liberty to investigate this piece of land for himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Sun on Eagle's Wings

It was in the dead of night with the clashing of fists. One punch after another. The only lights available are from the moon and the sparks of metal hitting against metal. A shadowy figure blocks an oncoming swing to the left while trying to retaliate back, but was easily evaded. After dozens of more exchanges the sun finally showed itself, revealing a man clad in yellow and another shrouded in black. The man clad in yellow looked at the rising sun, but when he turned back to his opponent, he was gone. He sat down where he was. He looked towards the sunrise wondering just who he had encountered.

~*~

It was early in the morning and a young man crept into his home and went into his room as silently as possible. He took out the bandages he hid in the corner and took off the top half of his shozoku off revealing the bruises he got from the fight. The bruises he received were bad and were discoloring as he was checking his body. He put some restorative ointments on himself before wrapping himself in bandages. He looked at his arms and they were also badly bruised. He took off his armlets and inspected them. They were cracking. Though he was on par with the assailant, he felt like he lost. The punches were quick but also powerful, so even if he blocked, he still took a substantial amount of damage. Hence, the bruises. The sun was now up, and he put on a shirt to conceal the wounds. He went out of his room and was greeted by his mother.

"Aquila, you can rest for today. You worked so hard yesterday already." His mother was being very kind, usually she’s always barking orders for him to do.

"Are you sure?" He asked. His mother never gave him the day off, but she nodded. Internally, he was overjoyed because he didn't think he could work with the wounds he has.

"Just....rest up your body." She had a sad look in her eyes, and Aquila couldn't figure out why. Once she left the house to the fields, he went back into his room and laid onto his futon, aching from his fight. He stood right back up feeling uneasy about his encounter. He went outside of his house and saw fields of rice Patty. He was greeted by his grandmother.

“What are you doing up? You should be resting those wounds,” she said to him which caught him off guard.

“I’m fine grandma. The work yesterday wasn’t all that hard,” he replied back, and she just sighed saying something like the boy doesn’t know how to stop. He showed a courtesy smile before heading off. He crept towards the edge of the village, hoping nobody saw him. Once he climbed up a tree and started to go from tree to tree, so no one would see him. Even though he was just a village boy, he taught himself these sets of skills out of creativity, then he improved it, now, out of necessity.

He was a whiles away from his village when he spotted soldiers. Hidden away in the trees, he eavesdropped the soldiers. “Did you hear? Tokugawa-sama was attacked last night.”

“I heard it was the guardian of the forest,” one of the soldiers said.

“But he didn’t come out scratched,” another one said.

“Other soldiers who went in these areas came out hurt,” the first one said.

“Skilled, but not skilled enough,” the other two laughed. Aquila got irritated and quietly approaching them from behind. He got close enough to assault the soldiers, so he banged two of the soldiers’ heads together and gut punched the third one. He breathed out feeling a bit refreshed.

He looked at the mon of the soldiers and immediately recognized it. It was the crest of the Tokugawa clan. He tightened his fist. What purpose does he have here?  He needed to find out why, so he went back up in the trees and glided through them. His body was aching but this was more important for him that was until his body gave up on him midair. He wasn’t able to move his body, so he struck the branches before falling down. The impact of the fall plus the previous injuries he already sustained made him lose consciousness, but before he lost all of it he suddenly saw a figure in front of him.

~*~

He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the gleaming sunlight from his window. ‘When did I fall asleep? That must’ve been a dream.’ He groggily yawned but then he took another look at his surroundings. He was in a tent. He panicked. He was about to get up but then someone came inside the tent.

“You’re awake! Well, that’s good.” It was the man clad in yellow from that morning. Aquila looked at himself and thanked the heavens that he wasn’t wearing the shozoku. He took another look at the young man. He was wearing a yellow sleeveless hoodie, under it a chestplate, with black chainmail on his left arm while leaving his right arm bear with gauntlets on both hands. He was wearing yellow baggy silk pants with the bottom tucked into his boots along with red rope tied to his waist. The man spoke again, “I’m Tokugawa Ieyasu, it's nice to meet you.”

Aquila nodded still being silent all while looking for a way to escape, but the only exit was being blocked, unless he would cut through one side of the tent.

“You’re safe, don’t worry.” He laughed. He was too relaxed, Aquila thought. When he turned his body. He noticed there was an absence of pain. He looked at his abdomen and saw that it was re-bandaged. “My medics tended to your wounds. Say, how did you receive such wounds?”

Aquila leaped out of the bed and got into a defensive position. While holding his position, his wounds starting to hurt so he fell on one knee.

“Whoa, easy there. You need to rest.” Ieyasu took a step forward, and Aquila got defensive again.

“What do you want,” Aquila said, voice full of malice all while gasping because of the pain.

Ieyasu looked at the other’s eyes and saw that they were filled with sorrow. He sighed and sat down on the spot. “I checked on the village not to close from here, and I noticed that only the women, children, and elders are there.” Aquila tensed up and Ieyasu caught notice. “Are you protecting that village?”

Aquila became silent again, only with a glaring malice. He got defensive again.

“Your bond with the village is pretty strong, and I admire that.” Ieyasu was smiling. “Why don’t you join me? With bonds like yours, I’m sure you have a purpose to fight.”

Aquila became surprised then changed to the former position, “Then why are you here? Out here to recruit more soldiers?”

“I was unaware of a village being in this area. I only knew of rumors of attacks in these areas.” Ieyasu was being earnest, but Aquila didn’t want to believe him. “You’ve done a great job at protecting them.”

For the first time he was getting praised for a decision he made. He could feel his face becoming flush. “What is it to you?”

Ieyasu smiled. “I would like for you to join me in making this country ruled with bonds like your.”

‘Was he serious?’ Aquila was more than surprised that Ieyasu would ask him to join the war. “Didn’t you already take more than enough men from villages everywhere?”

“So that’s what happened….” Ieyasu looked down in thought. “If you help me win this war I guarantee the men of your village will return.”

Aquila would like to think that, oh how he really did. He thought about how one person can be that influential to help the process of victory. He then thought of the consequences of going into war and the benefits with the power of bonds. “Damnit!” He dropped his stance. Ieyasu's proposal was too sensible to him. The power of bonds was what allowed him to continue defending his village. “Have it your way, but I’ll need time.”

“Take all the time you need,” Ieyasu simply said, while standing up. “You’re a pretty good fighter by the way.” Aquila’s face was becoming flushed again. The older man smiled and left the tent. Aquila followed him out. It was an army camp and there were tents set up. He saw soldiers walking around with their armor and equipment, then a huge armored machine. It whirred when it saw the younger male. “This is Honda Tadakatsu, my right hand man.” He whirred again. “Don’t worry Tadakatsu, it’s fine, he’s fine.” Ieyasu smiled to Aquila. “Do you need to be escorted back?”

Aquila glared at him “I’m fine,” but then pain struck his abdomen making him stumble. His body was failing on him again, so he wasn’t able to put a foot forward to stop himself from falling. He braced for the impact with the ground but that never came. Instead, he was caught by Ieyasu.

“You’re not fine,” He started, “I’ll take you to your village; it’ll be better for you.” He was being very insistent and Tadakatsu whirred alarmingly.  "It's okay, Tadakatsu, I trust him. I’ll be back by sundown." Ieyasu was still holding onto Aquila and he lifted him to an upright position, while Aquila was limp at the constant nonviolent contact.

He wasn't used to being touched, only used to being hit. It was always metal hitting metal and never fists to fists, but this was the first time someone was on par, or stronger, than Aquila. He was able to outsmart the regular soldiers, but he wasn’t able to with Ieyasu. Ieyasu was something else, and there was just a nagging feeling in Aquila about him. He was following Ieyasu until they got to some horses.

Ieyasu got on one of the horses and looked at Aquila. “Get on,” he gestured. Aquila was hesitant but got on behind Ieyasu. The shogun could sense the nervousness in the other. "Is this your first time on a horse?"

"Don't mock me," Aquila said in a quiet voice.

Ieyasu smiled and whipped at the horse to go. "Hold on tight." Aquila became startled and so he held onto Ieyasu, wrapping his arms around the older man. Ieyasu jerked at the sudden contact but smiled at the childish behavior. Aquila didn't notice what he was doing until he touched something warm. He had his hands on Ieyasu's abdomen. He felt the hard muscles beneath his hands, and his face started to heat up. Luckily, he was behind the man, so he wasn't able to see his red face. Aquila never noticed it until now that his body was extremely fatigued. Resting on the back of the man, he quickly rested. He closed his eyes for what felt like a short passage of time was actually quite a while because they had arrived at his village. They entered the village and everyone was skeptical at the foreigners, until one of the children recognized Aquila.

"Everyone! It's Aquila, he's back!" All the children rushed over to greet the young man. Ieyasu stopped the horse and Aquila got off. The children surrounded him, asking questions like, "Did you fight off bad guys?" and "Were they strong?"

Ieyasu was astounded about how much influence one person had on the whole village. He was idolized by the children and admired by the elders. Ieyasu was enjoying seeing how the younger male fared with his fellow townspeople and then something caught his ear.

"Aquila!" A woman shouted and the children flinched at the voice. "Where have you been?" Everyone parted making way for the woman.

"I'm sorry, mother! I know you told me to rest, but I just couldn't just sit still." Aquila was being earnest, and she sighed.

"And who is this man." She gestured to Ieyasu.

He got off of the horse and bowed to her. "I'm Tokugawa Ieyasu, ma'am."

Everybody became shocked, especially the elders. There were murmurs about the young shogun. Aquila's mother was the most shocked of them all. "I-I see... what brings Tokugawa-sama to these rural area?"

"There were rumors about hostile forces in these areas, but I haven't met any of them yet," he answered. Aquila's mother glared at him and he smiled nervously.

Aquila went up to his mother and whispered into her ear. She sighed and nodded, and the both of them went walking away in silence while Ieyasu was being ambushed by the children. The elders were frantic at the children's behavior of disrespect, but Ieyasu didn't mind because it was refreshing seeing people so lax around him, unlike the war zone he associates himself with. Now he just has to wait for Aquila to come back.

As the two of them are walking Aquila’s mother spoke, “I also have to tell you something when we get to the house….”

Aquila was surprised that she had something for him, so he just nodded, and they just continued walking in silence.

They got to their home and Aquila didn't go inside of the house. "Mother I-"

"After me," she interrupted him. He nodded and followed her inside. They went into the kitchen and she kneeled on the floor. She lifted up a section of the floor, and underneath it was an envelope. She took out the envelope and handed it to Aquila. He looked at the envelope and it read 'Koga.' "We were part of the Koga clan, that's why there was a shozoku," she paused, waiting for a response from the male, but nothing came out, so she continued, "your father and I had to go into hiding because we're wanted fugitives of the Iga clan." She covered his hands with hers. "This letter tells the Koga clan of your background and they'll train you."

"Koga? Train?" It was all confusing to him that his mother would wait until this day to tell him. He thought about what she said and tried to connect it to what was happening then something clicked. "Wait, mother, I have something to tell you. I-"

She cut him off again. "I know..." she smiled a sad smile. ”We could never suppress the fighter in you. You were always trying to protect the bonds you care for."

'Again with the bonds. Is it truly that important?' Aquila nodded and hugged his mother and went into his room. In his room he packed his shozoku, and other medicinal vials just in case. He saw his armlets and that reminded him of that night. He saw the crack in the armlets and was then reminded of his injuries. This was the first time someone was to overpower him with sheer force. Aquila felt weak, so he decided to get stronger in the war. He wrapped his belongings into a bag and went to the entrance of the house. His mother was nowhere to be found, but he was able to hear stifled cries and sniffles. Hearing that churned his gut, telling him to stay and protect the village he bonded so much with, but a greater force compelled him to keep moving forward, to take a step into the greater picture, to help stop the warring clans. He quietly said his apologies and left his house to go back to the village entrance. At the entrance, he found Ieyasu buried underneath a bunch of kids. Aquila was astounded at how lax the shogun can be.

The man beneath the dog pile of children looked up and saw the younger male. "Ready?" Aquila nodded and Ieyasu got off of the ground like the children on top of him were weightless. "Alright guys me and Aquila has to go."

"Where are you taking Aquila-nichan?" One of the boys said.

Ieyasu was about to answer but Aquila beat him to it. "I'll comeback, don't worry." He ruffled the boy's hair.

One other boy spoke up, "will he come back with you? He's fun!"

Aquila became stunned at what the boy said. He looked at said person and he was smiling. "Maybe, just maybe." Hearing the possibility of their new friend, the children ran off playing some more. Aquila sighed and Ieyasu chuckled.

Ieyasu got on the horse and waited for the other to get on but instead he was stretching his legs. "I'll follow you," Aquila said with a grin.

Ieyasu became amused. "Alright, but let's see if you can keep up." Aquila smiled and Ieyasu took off with the horse. Aquila was dashing behind him with the speed of a ninja.  He was proud of this feat that he was able to run this fast all on his own. When they got to the woods, Aquila ditched the ground and jumped for the trees. He was now above Ieyasu. When Ieyasu looked back he didn’t see the other but when he looked up he saw him leaping through the trees. He smiled and went faster. Aquila noticed the increase of speed and also went faster. His body was getting tired but he persisted. Soon they reached the camp and Aquila was out of breathe but not completely.

“You move well for someone who’s untrained,” Ieyasu complimented.

"I train myself," Aquila remarked, "but I could use more training. I'm still too weak.”

Ieyasu caught a hint of pity in his words, growing a bit concerned for the younger man. “You’re strong, the way you are.”

“Am I really? I couldn’t land a hit on you at all,” Aquila chuckled, “and I’m sure there are people stronger than you.” He looked towards the sky with his fists balled. “I can’t protect my home without becoming stronger.”

The sun fell on Aquila’s face and Ieyasu noticed the green eyes. He shook his head and focused on the comment. He thought about saying something to cheer up the other but nothing came to mind. He sighed.

Aquila was still up towards the sky and he noticed the way he acted. He immediately bowed down, "I'm sorry Tokugawa-dono. I didn't mean to be rude."

Ieyasu became surprise at the sudden formality. "Don't be, it's actually refreshing not hearing formalities." He laughed. "You were never formal in the beginning either."

Aquila tensed in embarrassment. “I’ll act accordingly next time.”

Ieyasu sighed. 'Back to the formalities, I guess,' he thought to himself. "We leave by nightfall. You can go get yourself acquainted with the troops and help out with whatever you can." Aquila just nodded, stunned from the sudden formality. “And don’t be so tense.”

Aquila looked up to see Ieyasu smiling. He smiled himself and relaxed. “Yes sir!”

The younger left to get himself acquainted with the rest of the platoon.  Tadakatsu saw Aquila and immediately went to find Ieyasu. Ieyasu was sitting and looking up at the sky and Tadakatsu whirred when he saw him.

"I'm fine Tadakatsu. There's no need to be worried." Ieyasu said to his general. Tadakatsu positioned himself in front of Ieyasu's view. "He's not going to be a threat to us. In fact, he's an asset to us. His bond with his village is strong and I want the other soldiers to see what I see by getting to know the man and seeing how strong he is." Tadakatsu relaxed. "Thanks Tadakatsu, and.... will you keep an eye on him? Something about him worries me." Something in Ieyasu was nagging at him about the younger male, so he asked for his general to keep an eye on Aquila.

Tadakatsu planned to watch him in the beginning, and Ieyasu knew he was, but Ieyasu wanted him to watch the new recruit with more care rather than malice.

~*~

Night was approaching and the troops were ready to go. Tadakatsu was urging for Ieyasu to get on him so they could leave first but Ieyasu insisted to stay behind with the rest of the troops. While Ieyasu was leading, a solder popped up beside him. He looked at the soldier and immediately recognized him, he grinned. “Have you gotten acquainted?”

“Yes I have,” the soldier replied back, “In fact I asked them about how you are and….you are well respected from your troops and they understand your need of unifying the nations with bonds…” Aquila became silent, probably not wanting say anything offensive, but how else would he know if it was offensive. “What is your definition of bonds?”

Ieyasu was shocked at sudden the question but didn’t really mind. He fisted the air in front of him, “Bonds are what keeps us together. They are the foundation of everything. They give us strength when we’re low and making new bonds concretes relationships.”

“I see….” Aquila was in deep thought. Ieyasu said those words with deep resolve and they held great meaning, but he couldn’t help but feel something in him twist. Could it be that something inside of him disagrees? But it was a very sensible goal. Even though he reasoned with himself, he couldn’t shake off the feeling of uneasiness.

Ieyasu on the other hand was glad that the new recruit was getting to see his vision. He was amused that the troops easily accepted the new recruit on the spot. He usually never does this, but he couldn’t just pass up the opportunity and let him go. Aquila was strong for someone untrained and he has passion in what he does no matter the occasion. But he felt uneasy about the younger male and he can’t put his finger on it. It’s like he knew something bad was going to happen but he didn’t quite know what it was.

They continued to walk in silence the rest of the way to Mikawa with Ieyasu leading and Aquila following beside him. They haven’t noticed, but other soldiers have already noticed how relaxed Ieyasu is with the other, though none of them are going to comment on it.

~*~

They finally reached to one of the Tokugawa’s stronghold in Mikawa at the Komaki mountains, and the troops readied for the night. Aquila went with the troops but before he joined them in their sleeping quarters, he snuck passed Tadakatsu and into Ieyasu’s quarters.

Ieyasu was reading over plans and he felt a presence behind him. He jumped and got into a defensive position just to find the new recruit. “You scared me.”

“Sorry, but I was wondering what I would be doing tomorrow,” Aquila asked the warlord, curious of what was to be expected.

“Tomorrow? Hmm….We’ll be preparing-" Ieyasu was cut off by a frantic soldier.

"Lord Tokugawa! There's an ambush!" The soldier exclaimed. "It's Gotou Matabei!”

“Gotou?! Ready the troops, we’re falling back!” Ieyasu commanded then he turned to Aquila, “You better go help them, we’re retreating for now.”

Aquila didn’t understand, why did they have to retreat? Couldn’t they just fight? But before he could ask his question and explosion sounded, and Ieyasu rushed out of his quarters. Aquila followed suit and was appalled by the war zone. This was his first time seeing a scene like this and he immediately disliked it. He ran towards the allies sleeping quarters and tried to stay hidden. He was close to the quarters but he was found out by the enemy soldiers. They charged at his with swords, but he quickly sidestepped to get around them and ran passed them. He couldn’t fight them when he wasn’t armed. He finally got to the quarters and saw that it was in blazes. Aquila became frantic, and went into the burning building. He searched everywhere for his bag, and when he found it, it was difficult to get. It was surrounded by the fire, but he still went in anyways; into the flames. In the burning building, he could feel the scorching heat burning his skin but he persisted because he needed to reach his bag. He reached his bag but when he turned around to run back out a piece of the building fell, blocking his path. He cursed his fate and looked for the closest opening. He saw a window but it was blocked with debris. He took the chance and headed for the window. He tried to break through the debris, but it was able to block him. He tried and tried again until it was umpteenth time. He was able to burst through the building and he gasped and cough at the inhaling of fresh air.

"Is someone still alive?” Aquila heard the voice and chill went up his spine. He looked up and saw a man in purple and gold armor with a long fang blade. Aquila felt like he was going to hurl. The man's stench of blood was putrid. The man charged at him, but he couldn’t move. Besides the feeling of becoming sick, Aquila felt queasy because of the lack of oxygen in the burning building, so he his reaction wasn’t fast enough to dodge, let alone to block. This was it for him….He couldn’t do anything else…. The man was coming at him pretty fast and when the final strike was about to slice him, he heard a clash of metal. He looked up and saw a man clad in yellow. Tokugawa Ieyasu had come to save him.

"Are you alright?" Ieyasu strained to say while defending the strike.

Aquila saw that the blade of the fang blade had sliced through Ieyasu's gauntlets and he noticed blood was streaking his head. He was more worried about the man who protected him. Aquila was about to ask if Ieyasu was okay but he heard a snicker.

“Another one is still alive.” The man creepily said.

Ieyasu pushed back the man making him jump back, “Gotou Matabei! What purpose do you have here?”

“Tokugawa Ieyasu, I didn’t notice you with the blood on yourself; have you grown weak hearted? Is that why you rebelled against Lord Toyotomi?” The samurai mocked.

“Matabei! Answer me, did Mitsunari send you?” Ieyasu questioned while charging at him.

“Don’t mock me, I’m my own faction and I just feel like killing,” Matabei answered while charging towards Ieyasu. Aquila could hear the blood lust within his voice, and he could sense the malice coming from the ronin. Ieyasu was able to block the attack and counter. Aquila was still stunned by the bleeding Ieyasu then he felt a chill up his spine. Matabei had his sights on the younger male. “It looks like I forgot about another prey.” He threw his fang blade and it was spinning in the air circling towards Aquila.

Ieyasu totally forgot about the younger man and looked back to see the circling blade. Maybe he had enough time to run towards the new recruit and block the spinning blade.

He was about to run towards the other, but he was stopped by Matabei. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

Ieyasu punched at him and he got a couple punches in but he was still unable to shake off the psychotic ronin. “Aquila!”

Aquila was still kneeling with the sight of the bleeding Ieyasu in his mind. He couldn’t shake off the feeling that he wasn’t meant to see him in that manner but he had and it irked him. Aquila was also stuck on the notion that Ieyasu was able to track him and protect him… leaving with the thought in his head, how was he different from other soldiers that he had to be protected. He was deep in his mind when Ieyasu’s shout brought him back to the real world. Aquila looked up and saw the spinning blade coming for him fast, but this time he was ready to dodge; no, he was determined to counter after what he saw what had happened to Ieyasu. He focused on the incoming blade and leaped into the air, over the blade and stepped onto it. The blade fell onto the floor with him on it and he turned to an irritated and beat up ronin.

Ieyasu was able to overpower the intruder but he didn’t come out unscathed. He was also beat up despite Matabei without his fang blade he had sharp claws on his gauntlets. Ieyasu noticed that Matabei was unfocused and hit him square in the face. He then looked at what caught the ronin’s attention and saw that the fang blade was no longer in the air but with someone on top of it.

Aquila grabbed the fang blade from the ground and swung it a few times to get a feel for it and threw it at the dazed ronin. Much to his surprised, Matabei was able to grab the flying blade. That was a mistake made by Aquila because Matabei charged towards him without any signs of warning. Aquila was about to block but he forgot he didn’t have his gauntlets on so he would just be blocking with his bare arms. He was going to dodge, but for some reason, his legs were stuck in place. Was it fear? Hopelessness? Or even Doubt? He didn’t know but he knew he couldn’t move. He crossed his arms hoping that would be enough to stop the blade from going completely through but it never came to that. Aquila had a dèja vu; Ieyasu blocked him from being hit once again.

This time Ieyasu had his back turned to Matabei and Ieyasu was facing Aquila. "You... okay?" He strained to say. Aquila observed where he was cut and it penetrated through the breastplate and into the shoulder.

"Tch," Matabei clicked, "He still isn't dead." He was about to drive the blade deeper into Ieyasu but a mechanical whir can be heard. Matabei withdrew his blade and jumped back so he wouldn't get hit by a drill lance. By withdrawing his blade, Ieyasu fell forward and Aquila caught him. Securing the wounded warlord in an embrace, all Aquila could think of was what reasons would Ieyasu have in protecting him.

"Are you hurt?" Aquila heard from the injured man. He shook his head. "That's good," the man said before his body became limp.

"Ieyasu?" Aquila questioned, nudging the limp man he was holding. "Ieyasu?!" He grew worried with each shake and no reply. "Ieyasu!" He was desperate to get the man to wake up, he couldn't die here, not without fulfilling his promise.

Tadakatsu successfully fought off Gotou Matabei and immediately rushed to his shogun's side. Fearing for Ieyasu’s life he picked up both of the men and retreated. Tadakatsu's hatred for the younger man grew.  Aquila was the reason that Ieyasu was hurt, but he didn't quite know why his commander would go to such lengths to protect the younger man. Tadakatsu took them to the Tokugawa's main camp. They were greeted by rushing soldiers and medics. Tadakatsu took Ieyasu from Aquila and gently handed him to the healers.

Aquila just stood there covered in Ieyasu's blood. No questions were asked about who he was and how Ieyasu became injured.  He stood outside of the operation room, waiting for any news whatsoever.

Tadakatsu on the other hand had to tend to the distraught soldiers who retreated in last night's ambush.

A doctor came out of the tent and Aquila eagerly went up to him. The doctor sighed, "He's going to be alive, but he'll need his rest, so please don't bother him until tomorrow.”

Aquila was relieved, and he went to the sleeping quarters. Soldiers were looking at him strangely. He looked at his arms and saw that there was blood. He was still covered in blood, in Ieyasu's blood. Aquila recalled the memory of the man getting hurt protecting him. Something inside of him tightened. He didn’t know what it was but he hated the feeling. He just felt like he couldn’t do anything when it came to the man. He was hopeless, but he was able to gather the resolve to become stronger; stronger than he ever was. He went to the washrooms to wash the blood off of him, and while he was scrubbing the blood off he heard whispers.

“Lord Tokugawa almost got killed today,” he heard one of them say. “It’s because he went to go protect the new recruit.” Aquila winced at the mention of him. “Lord Tadakatsu was really angry when he came back too.” He sighed, deciding that he was finished washing off the blood; though, he really wasn’t. He couldn’t help but get the feeling of despair whenever he replayed the events in his head. He had to become stronger, and he’ll do whatever it takes for him to become stronger. He knew that for sure.

~*~

The next day came and he was eager to see how Ieyasu was holding up. He went to his sleeping quarters, but then he was stopped by Tadakatsu. The giant stood there in silence, making Aquila feel guilty. “Look, I’m just as confused as you are.... I would never have expected for him to come for me…” Tadakatsu still didn’t budge; still too angry at the younger man before him.

“Tadakatsu…”A weak voice could be heard from behind the machine. “You can let him pass.”

Their attention turned towards the injured Ieyasu who was standing in the doorway of the tent. He was covered in bandages, and Aquila felt a tug inside of him. He was saddened to see Ieyasu in this state. Ieyasu spoke again, “Hey, Aquila. Are you hurt?”

Aquila was stunned to hear that come from the older man. How could he be thinking of other’s wellbeing when he himself is injured? “Ieyasu…Why?”

“Why…I made a promise to you and I wanted to make sure you see it through,” Ieyasu answered, but honestly, he didn’t know himself. All he knew was that he needed to protect the younger male. He felt like he had to protect the younger man. It was just an urge in himself.

**Author's Note:**

> Once again I have things planned out for the story like a double cross, and a betrayal, and some emotional turmoil. I really need to get writing...


End file.
